Questions to Ask When Partnering With a Business
These questions are for the owner, marketer or nonprofit director who has been offered, or is about to propose, a partnership with another company: a referral swap, a shared campaign, a distribution deal, a sponsorship or a joint venture. They sit in six groups in the order the talks usually go: Goals and Fit for the first meeting, Work and costs and Results once the idea has a shape, then Agreement and Exit before anything is signed or announced. Choosing a co-owner for your own company is a different conversation, with a list of its own.
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The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
Goals
What do you want this partnership to do for your business?
Why ask it
Start here, because every later answer gets judged against this one. New customers, a stronger name in their market, a product they cannot build themselves: each asks something different of you. If the reply is only 'exposure' or 'synergy', ask which problem of theirs this is meant to solve.
Why us, and not another company you could have approached?
Why ask it
The reply shows what they think you bring: your audience, your reputation, your location, or simply that you said yes to a meeting. If they name something you are not sure you can deliver, say so now. It is also fair to ask whether they are having the same talk with anyone else.
What kind of partnership do you have in mind: referrals, co-marketing, distribution, a sponsorship or something we own together?
Why ask it
People say 'partnership' and mean very different commitments, from swapping mentions in a newsletter to forming a new company. Pin the type down before talking terms, because the questions about money, exclusivity and paperwork all change with it. If they are unsure, the lightest version is usually the place to begin.
What would make you call this a success a year from now?
Why ask it
Push past 'it went well' to a picture you could check: a waiting list for the joint event, a product on a set number of shelves, a steady trickle of customers who say you sent them. Then describe yours. Two pictures that do not match are better found in the first meeting than at the first review.
What do you think we get out of it?
Why ask it
A partner who has thought about your side will have a ready answer, and it shows how well they understand your business. If their picture of your gain is wrong or thin, correct it on the spot. An arrangement only one side needs is the first thing the other side drops in a busy month.
Where does this sit among your priorities for the year?
Why ask it
A partnership that is tenth on their list gets a tenth priority's attention, whatever is promised in the room. Ask what is ahead of it and which months are their busiest. That tells you when replies will slow down.
Who inside your company wants this, and who still has to agree?
Why ask it
The person across the table may be keen and still need an owner, a board or a head office to sign off. Find out early what that person will want to see. If you are the nonprofit in the room, say whether your own board has a view on who the organization is seen with.
Is there a small version of this we could run first?
Why ask it
One joint email, one event or a single store is enough to see how the other side works: whether they meet dates, share numbers and answer messages. Agree in advance what result would lead to the bigger arrangement. A partner who refuses any trial and wants the full commitment at once has earned a second question about why.
Fit
Who are your customers, and how much do they overlap with ours?
Why ask it
You want a description precise enough to set beside your own: age, location, what they buy and what they spend. With too little overlap, neither side's customers care. Near-total overlap can mean you are closer to competitors than partners, so ask what they sell that your customers do not already get from you.
How do you reach your customers, and how many respond when you do?
Why ask it
The size of an email list or a follower count says little alone. Ask what a typical message gets in opens, clicks or foot traffic, and how often they would be willing to mention you. Bring the same figures for your own channels so the trade is an honest one.
How long have you been in business, and how has the last year gone?
Why ask it
A partner who closes or cuts back halfway through leaves your name on an unfinished promise. For a referral or a single campaign you are unlikely to be shown their accounts, so listen for plain signs: hiring or letting people go, opening or closing locations, launching products or shelving them. A company under strain can still be a fine partner for one event and a risky one for a three-year distribution deal.
Which partnerships are you running now, and could we talk to one of those partners?
Why ask it
A company with several live partnerships knows how to run one, but yours will share attention with the rest. When you reach the other partner, ask how promptly they are paid or reported to, and whether they would sign again. Reluctance to give you a single name is worth noting.
Has a partnership of yours ended badly, and what happened?
Why ask it
Most companies that have been around a while have one. What matters is how they tell it: whether they own a share of it and what they changed afterwards. If every former partner was the problem, expect to be described the same way one day.
Do you work with any of our competitors, or expect to?
Why ask it
It need not end the talks, since plenty of referral and distribution partners work with several companies in one field. You do need to know before you share plans, prices or customer details. Ask how they keep one partner's information away from another's.
Is there anything in your reviews, in the press or in a legal dispute that we should hear about from you first?
Why ask it
Your name will sit next to theirs, so their reputation becomes partly yours. Read their reviews and search the news yourself before the meeting, then see whether their account matches what you found. A straight answer about a known problem counts in their favor.
Are there causes, industries or kinds of company you will not put your name beside?
Why ask it
Trade answers on this one. A nonprofit may have donors or a mission that rule certain sponsors out, and a brand may steer clear of politics or particular products altogether. Better to find the clash now than a week after the joint announcement.
What will a customer we send you experience in the first week?
Why ask it
Walk through it step by step: who contacts them, how fast, and what they are offered. If you can, go through it yourself as a customer before signing. The people you refer will hold you partly responsible for how they are treated there.
How do you want the partnership described in public, and what would you not want us to say?
Why ask it
Some companies want a loud launch and some want one quiet line on a website. Settle the label too, since 'official partner', 'sponsor' and 'supplier' each suggest a different level of endorsement. Rules on disclosing a paid relationship differ by country and by platform, so check which ones apply to the two of you.
Work and costs
Who on your side will run this day to day, and how much of their time does it get?
Why ask it
You are after a name and a rough number of hours a week. 'The team will handle it' usually means it lands on top of somebody's full job. Ask to meet that person before you sign, since they are who you will really be working with.
What exactly will each of us do, and by what date?
Why ask it
Turn the idea into two columns with a deadline on every line: who writes the email, who supplies the stock, who staffs the booth. Gaps show up fast once it is written down. Any task that neither column claims is the one that will not get done.
What budget have you set aside for this, and has it been approved?
Why ask it
Enthusiasm costs nothing, and a budget line is a decision somebody made. If the money still has to be requested, ask who decides and when. Say what you can spend as well, so nobody plans around a figure the other side does not have.
How do we split the costs we take on together, such as an event, ads or printed material?
Why ask it
An even split sounds fair and may not be, if one side gains far more from the spending. Agree the shares, a ceiling, and who pays the supplier up front. Decide as well what happens to a bill that comes in over the estimate.
Does money change hands between us: a referral fee, a share of sales, a flat sponsorship amount, or nothing?
Why ask it
Each model rewards different behavior. A fee per referral rewards volume, a share of sales rewards customers who go on to buy, and a flat amount rewards nothing in particular once it is paid. Some fields restrict paying or receiving referral fees, so ask a lawyer or your trade body how it works for your kind of business.
When is that money paid, and is it still owed if the customer cancels or gets a refund?
Why ask it
Fix the payment date and the method, and whether the fee falls due when the customer signs, when they pay or once they have stayed a set period. Refunds and cancellations are easy to leave unsaid, so walk one example through from sale to payout. Whatever you settle goes into the written terms, along with the figure the fee is worked out from.
If you are putting in money or product, what do you expect in return?
Why ask it
This is the sponsorship question, and the reply should be a list: logo placement, a mention from the stage, a booth, a number of posts, time with attendees. Write each item down with a quantity beside it. If you are a nonprofit, ask your accountant how benefits given back to a sponsor are treated where you operate.
Who approves anything that carries both our names, and how long does that take?
Why ask it
Joint emails, posts and flyers can sit for weeks waiting on a sign-off. Get the approver's name and a turnaround in days, and agree what happens when that time passes with no reply. If their legal team or head office reviews everything, build that wait into every date in the plan.
Once a customer has been passed across, who answers their questions, complaints and refund requests?
Why ask it
The customer does not care which company is at fault and will go back to whichever one they know. Decide who replies, within what time, and who bears the cost of putting it right. Then make sure the front-line staff on both sides have been told.
What do you need from us that we have not offered yet?
Why ask it
It invites the request they were holding back: more mentions, a lower price, your customer list, a named contact. Hearing it now lets you say yes, no or not yet while the terms are still open.
How often will we meet, and what happens if your contact person leaves?
Why ask it
A short standing call, monthly or so, keeps small problems small. Many partnerships live in one relationship between two people, so ask who the backup is and where the history is written down. If nobody else there knows the arrangement, it walks out the door with that person.
Results
Which two or three numbers will tell us both that this is working?
Why ask it
Choose them together and keep the list short: leads passed across, sales through the channel, sign-ups from a joint event, donations tied to the campaign. Each should be a number both companies can see without asking. If they count reach and you count sales, you will read the same month in opposite ways.
How will we know which customers or sales came from the partnership?
Why ask it
The usual tools are a tracked link, a code, a dedicated form or a question at checkout, and every one of them misses some people. Run a dummy referral through the method before launch. Whichever you choose, both companies should be able to see the count.
When does a referral count as ours, and for how long?
Why ask it
A customer may click today and buy in three months, or arrive through you and through an ad in the same week. Agree what qualifies, how long the credit lasts, and what happens when both of you claim the same customer. Commission arguments tend to start here, so put the answer in the agreement.
What will you report to us, how often, and can we see the data underneath?
Why ask it
A monthly summary is fine as long as you can ask for the detail behind it. Agree the format now, even if it is only a shared spreadsheet, and who sends it without being chased. Where a fee is calculated from their sales figures, ask what you could check those figures against.
What result in the first 90 days would make you keep going, and what would make you stop?
Why ask it
With both thresholds said aloud, one slow month does not end things and a failing arrangement does not drag on. Keep them modest. Ninety days will usually show whether referrals or orders are arriving at all, and may be too short to show what they are worth.
When do we review it together, and what are we allowed to change at that point?
Why ask it
Set the date before launch, not when something has gone wrong. Say in advance which terms are open at a review, such as the fee, the split of work or the length, so that asking to change one is routine and not a crisis.
Agreement
Do you expect exclusivity, and over what: a product category, an area, a channel or a period of time?
Why ask it
Exclusivity costs the side that gives it every other partner it might have had. If they want it, ask what they commit in return, such as a minimum volume or spend, and what releases you if they fall short. Narrow it as far as you can and give it an end date.
What form will the agreement take, and who writes the first draft?
Why ask it
It might be a full contract, a short letter of agreement, a memorandum of understanding or their standard partner terms. Whoever drafts sets the starting point, so read a standard form closely and ask which clauses they have changed for others. How binding each kind of document is depends on its wording and on where you are, which is a question for a lawyer.
What happens if one of us does not deliver what we agreed to?
Why ask it
Take a concrete case in each direction: they miss the mailing date, you send half the referrals you forecast. The response could be a conversation, a reduced fee or the right to leave early, and the agreement should say which applies to which promise. Sort the firm commitments from the best efforts while you are at it, because each side tends to assume its own promises are the flexible ones.
How long does it run, and does it renew unless someone cancels?
Why ask it
A short first term lets both sides see results before committing further. If it renews by default, find the cancellation window and put that date in your calendar the day you sign.
How may each of us use the other's name, logo and content?
Why ask it
Swap brand guidelines if you both have them. Agree a short list of uses that are cleared in advance, such as a logo on the event page or one line in a newsletter, so only something outside the list needs a fresh yes. Say too what has to come down when the partnership ends, because a former partner's logo left on a website is easy to forget and awkward to be asked about.
Who owns what we make together: the content, the contact list, anything we build?
Why ask it
Joint webinars, guides, photos and sign-up lists all outlive the campaign that produced them. Decide for each whether one side owns it, both may use it, or neither may use it without the other. Be most exact about the sign-up list: both of you will want to keep emailing it, and what the people on it agreed to limits what either of you may do.
What customer information will pass between us, and what may each side do with it?
Why ask it
Before sharing any names or email addresses, find out what your own customers agreed to when they handed them over. Privacy rules vary by country, by state and by the kind of data, so ask how they apply to you both, and ask your partner how they store what they receive. Often the simplest design shares nothing: a referral link moves no data until the customer chooses to give it.
What has to stay confidential, and for how long after this ends?
Why ask it
Prices, margins, customer lists and plans tend to come out during partnership talks, often before anything is signed. Ask whether they want a confidentiality agreement before detailed numbers are exchanged, and who inside their company will see what you send. For the time afterwards, set a length for each kind of information, since a launch date stops mattering within months and a customer list does not.
If something goes wrong for a customer, which of us is responsible, and what insurance does each of us carry?
Why ask it
Picture the concrete case: a faulty product you recommended, an injury at a joint event, a refund neither side wants to fund. The agreement should say who carries which risk, and your insurer or broker can tell you whether your policy covers work done with a partner. Liability rules differ from place to place, so have this clause read by a lawyer.
If we set up something jointly owned, who puts in what, who decides, and how are profits shared?
Why ask it
This one is only for a joint venture, and it changes the weight of everything else on the page. A shared entity or a shared bank account ties two companies together far more tightly than a referral deal does, with tax and legal consequences that depend on where you are. Take that version to an accountant and a lawyer before agreeing to it even in principle.
Exit
How can either of us end this, and how much notice is needed?
Why ask it
Ask while relations are good, when it is a practical question and not a threat. You want a way out that does not require anyone to have done something wrong, with enough notice to unwind joint work. If only one side has that right, ask why.
Apart from poor results, what would make you want to end it early?
Why ask it
Their list tells you what they will be watching besides the numbers: a bad review, a price change, a deal with a rival, a key person leaving. Each item is a candidate for a line in the agreement saying what happens if it occurs. If something on the list is already in your plans, such as a price rise next spring, this is the moment to say so.
On the day it ends, what happens to shared customers, open leads and money still owed?
Why ask it
Go through the leftovers one at a time: referrals in progress, commissions on sales not yet closed, unsold stock, tickets already sold for a joint event. Customers who came through the partnership should be told who looks after them now. Leftovers that were planned for on paper get handed over, and the rest get argued about.
After it ends, may either of us approach the other's customers or staff?
Why ask it
Partners learn a good deal about each other's best customers and best people. Some agreements bar approaching them for a period, and whether such a clause holds up depends on local law. Ask what they would consider fair in both directions.
If we disagree about money or credit, how do we settle it?
Why ask it
Name two people, one from each company, who talk first, and a time limit for them to sort it out. Then ask what the next step would be: someone more senior on each side, a mediator, or whatever the contract provides. With the steps agreed ahead of time, a small disagreement has somewhere to go.
What happens to this agreement if either company is sold or changes owner?
Why ask it
A new owner may have other partners, other priorities or a competitor in the family. Ask whether a sale is being considered, and whether the agreement would pass to the buyer or give you the right to leave. If you are the one who might sell, say so, since a buyer will want to know what the agreement ties them to.
How to run the partnership conversation
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Before the first meeting
Answer the Goals questions for your own side
Before you ask what they want, write down what you want, what you can give and what you will not give. Two lines on each is enough. Without that page, it is easy to agree to the other company's version of the deal simply because it was the only one on the table.
Pick the questions that suit the kind of deal
A referral arrangement turns on Results and on how the fee is paid. A sponsorship turns on Fit and on the list of what the sponsor receives. Distribution raises exclusivity, territory and who looks after the customer. Co-marketing is mostly Work and costs, plus approvals. Mark the ten or so that matter in your case and bring those.
Be their customer for a week
Join their mailing list, read their reviews, buy something small or phone their front desk. You will learn how often they contact people, how they sound and how they handle a question, all of which your own customers will meet if you send them over. It also hands you specific things to raise under Fit.
Find out who can say yes
Ask early who signs partnership agreements at their company. A long, friendly run of meetings with someone who cannot commit the business costs both of you time. If the decision-maker will not join a meeting, ask what they would need to see in writing.
During the talks
Take the groups in order
Goals and Fit belong in the first meeting, while either side can still bow out politely. Work and costs and Results need a second sitting, usually with the people who will do the work. Agreement and Exit come last, once there is a deal worth writing down, but before anyone announces anything.
Give your own answer to every question you ask
The check runs both ways, and the other company is sizing you up as well. Offering your numbers, limits and worries first makes it easier for them to be frank, and shows you which of your answers they push back on.
Ask for the figure behind the adjective
'A big list', 'strong engagement' and 'lots of interest' are not things you can plan around. Ask how many, how often and compared with what. A partner with the figures to hand is one who will be able to report on the partnership later.
Send a written recap the same day
A short email listing what was agreed, what is still open and who does what next catches misunderstandings while they are cheap to fix. Stacked up, those recaps become the outline of the agreement.
Putting it in writing
One page in plain words first
Before any contract is drafted, set the deal out on a single page: the goal, each side's tasks, the money, the numbers you will track, the term and how to end it. If the two of you cannot agree on that page, a longer document will not fix it.
Begin with a trial that has an end date
One campaign, one event or one season limits what either side can lose and produces real numbers to negotiate the longer deal with. Write down beforehand what result leads to a renewal, using the thresholds you traded under Results.
Have someone qualified read it
Rules on referral fees, paid endorsements, customer data, sponsorship of nonprofits and jointly owned ventures change with country, state and industry. A lawyer, and an accountant for the money side, can tell you how they apply to your arrangement. This page can suggest what to ask, not what the law is where you are.
Put the dates in both calendars
Enter the review date, the renewal or cancellation window and any reporting deadlines on the day you sign. A partnership that renews quietly can run on long after it stopped being useful to either company.
Signs to slow down
They cannot say what they want from it
If the goal is still 'working together' after two meetings, there is nothing to measure and nothing to hold either side to. Suggest one small joint project and see whether a goal appears.
Exclusivity before any results
Being asked to shut out other partners on day one, with no minimum commitment in return, trades your options for a promise. Offer a trial first and tie any exclusivity to performance.
No named person on their side
A partnership that belongs to 'the marketing team' belongs to nobody in particular. Wait until there is a name, and meet the person behind it.
Counting that only one side can see
If the tracking, the sales data or the commission sums are visible only to them and they will not share the detail, every payment becomes a matter of faith. Ask for shared access, or a report you can check, before going further.
A rush to announce
A press release or a social post before the agreement is written commits your name in public while the terms are still loose. The announcement can wait a week, and a public link to the wrong partner is hard to take back.